The continued growth of Kawhi Leonard

Even in the aftermath of their loss at Oklahoma City, a result made even worse with the revelation of a new injury for Tony Parker, the Spurs had great cause for optimism.

Second-year small forward Kawhi Leonard battled Kevin Durant, three-time scoring champion and arguably the second best player in the world, to a standstill. By at least one measure Leonard outplayed him, notching a 23.6 game score at Basketball Reference for the third-best mark of his career. Durant, in comparison, registered an 18.2.

In more traditional terms, Leonard scored one fewer point, 24 to 25, while leading all players with 14 rebounds and the Spurs with six assists. Durant had nine boards and six assists, but committed six turnovers compared to just two for Leonard. According to Synergy Sports, two of those turnovers came while matched up directly with Leonard, who held him to 4 for 9 shooting compared to 6 for 11 in all other instances.

It was the type of performance Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks foreshadowed before the game, when he said Leonard had been playing like an All-Star. Brooks was merely the latest to heap praise on the San Diego State product, beginning at the start of the season with Gregg Popovich’s eye-opening declaration that Leonard is the future face of the franchise.

Considering the names who have held that role — Gervin, Robinson, Duncan, Hall of Famers all — it was a massive burden to place on a player who hadn’t even been through a full NBA training camp yet. Yet here Leonard is, going toe-to-toe with perennial MVP candidates and flashing new skills seemingly every night he steps on the court.

The Spurs got an early taste of Leonard’s precociousness last season. Having shot 29.1 percent on 3-pointers in his final season at San Diego, the Spurs weren’t expecting the Leonard to add an outside shot until his second season at the earliest. Yet he finished his rookie season at 38.6 percent behind the deeper NBA line, and shot 45 percent in the playoffs despite having precious little practice time to hone his stroke.

Such improvements are case examples why Popovich repeatedly describes Leonard as a sponge.

Leonard’s stoic demeanor masks a burning ambition to learn and grow. Entering the practice facility to see him working on some small piece of his game has become a staple of Spurs practices and shootaround. One day, it might be reverse layups; pump-fakes into pull-up baseline jumpers the next. Every player does this in some form or fashion. But rather than view such work as an obligation, Leonard routinely asks for more.

His development isn’t readily apparent in his season statistics. Playing roughly seven more minutes per game, his raw production has improved in every major category, as has his shooting. But while his scoring per 36 has jumped, his rebounding has dropped, while virtually everything else has remained the same. Indeed, his Player Efficiency Rating is identical at 16.6.

It’s more recently that Leonard has shown significant signs of growth. Over the past 29 games, he’s averaging 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals while shooting 49.8 percent from the floor and 40 percent on 3-pointers. Per NBA.com, his net rating of 13.1 — the difference between points scored and allowed over 100 possessions when he’s on the court — would rank third over the entire season, behind only Mario Chalmers (14.8) and LeBron James (13.5). (As it is, his 11.5 season rating is ninth among players who average at least 20 minutes per game.)

Then there’s Leonard’s defense, a responsibility he seems to have been genetically engineered for with his long arms, grappling-hook hands and instincts. Those qualities make him one of the few players who can expect to reasonably contain Durant, setting the stage for one of the NBA’s great individual matchups in the years to come.

With his youth and vast potential, predicting Leonard’s ceiling has become something of a hobby among team observers. Not even the Spurs are sure. One team member cited Chicago’s Luol Deng before hesitating. The Spurs swept the season series 2-0, with Leonard outscoring Deng 26-11 in the first meeting and 40-30 overall. Perhaps the bar set by a two-time All-Star is too low.

This much seems certain: Rather than forcibly hold him back or feature him, the Spurs are content to let Leonard adopt whatever role he’s comfortable with on a given night.

That won’t sit well with those who clamor for more shots, more post-ups, more responsibility, more anything. To a certain degree, impatience as understandable. With a usage rate that trails every rotation player but Boris Diaw, it’s clear that Leonard can, and should be, more aggressive.

But with more responsibility comes more scrutiny, and more pressure. Performances like Thursday’s will be expected rather than treated as bonuses.

For now, the Spurs are well aware of what they have, and they’re not about to spoil a player who is clearly headed in the right direction.